If a recently recharged air conditioning system loses it's cooling ability, what it's the most likely cause? If a leak, then where's the most likely place for it to leak? Could it be the compressor? Although it works for a few weeks after the recharge. The dealer has had the car and filled it with ultra violet dye, but could not find any leaks.
Any ideas?
Sorry for the rare/unusual post about a Toyota vehicle in this Toyota newsgroup rather than the popular topics about Bush.
Either a leak or the compressor, and since no leaks were detected then my best guess is the compressor.
Surely the compressor works (as it does so for a few weeks after a recharge) ? Or can the compressor leak? and why wasn't this discovered?
If the AC system was properly evacuated and refilled with the proper quantity of the proper refrigerant and system oil and a dye, and if the system is leaking, then the dye should be visible under an ultraviolet light.
Assuming that the dealer checked the compressor, evaporator, receiver drier, and hoses for leaks and none were visible, then the leak may be in an area that is not readily visible, like between the condenser and radiator, under/back side of a hose, or the evaporator, which is under the dash. In order to use the UV light method of finding leaks, you have to put the vehicle on a lift so you can check the bottoms of the condenser and compressor.
The next step is to try to find the leak with an electronic leak detector.
The most common areas where refrigerant leaks occur are the condenser and compressor.
Cheers, the car will be taken do a company that deals with AC systems. Not sure if I'll allow this muppet dealership do anything other than standard servicing - they changed the cambelt 4 months ago and didn't change the tensioner, and recently the tensioner failed....useless. They've actually had the car twice filled with ultraviolet dye and twice failed to find anything.
If the dealership has checked all of the visible areas, then the leak is in an invisible area like the evaporator.
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